Are the application essays important to any of the schools? Do any MT people actually read them? I thought I saw somewhere that Texas State reads them but I’m just not sure if it’s something we need to spend lots of time on or if it’s something we can just crank out and then move on. Any thoughts?
I honestly don’t know the answer. It probably varies by school. My gut is the essay, as long as it is decent, won’t keep a student in or out of a program and that the audition is the key for most audition based programs.
I agree that the audition is key for artistic acceptance- but essays can be important in academic - and in terms of merit $$. My D was invited to apply for competitive scholarships at 2 schools (Muhlenberg and Syracuse) where part of the criteria to be invited was her original essay
My advice is to put your best foot forward on every aspect of the admissions process. Further, some schools admit you separately to the college from the MT acceptance. Essays are one way to set you apart from other candidates, plus go beyond your “stats” on the application. If they were entirely unimportant, they would not be required. Also, many theater departments have a “Why do you want to major in theater” type essay. Many schools also have a Why do you want to go to our college" essay. Effort should be put into these in my opinion.
Very good points made in above two posts why essays do matter.
Yes, there are definitely programs that read them and take them into serious consideration, if not for admission, then for merit money. Heads of departments and adjudicators at several/many schools referenced D’s essays during auditions and after admission. I would spend time on them and do the best you can.
Thanks everyone! My D is on her third draft of the common app essay as we speak so we’ll keep plugging away then. She’s at the point where they are just trying to vary sentence structure, etc so it’s really not changing much and we’re getting anxious to get going. It sounds like it is worth the extra effort though so that’s good to know. I was just starting to wonder if we were wasting time and would be better served to get going on submitting but it sounds like this is important. We appreciate it!
Yes, the essays are important. Auditors do remember them. Kaitlin Hopkins at Texas State most definitely reads them all very closely. Good luck!